Recently, legislators in Texas introduced two bills relating to consumer privacy and data protection: H.B. No. 4518, the Texas Consumer Privacy Act (“Texas CPA”) and H.B. No. 4390, the Texas Privacy Protection Act (“TPPA”). These bills bear a strong resemblance to the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “California CPA”), and would lay the groundwork for extensive administrative schemes protecting consumers’ rights to their personal information.
Texas CPA
The Texas CPA bears strong similarity to California CPA. The Texas CPA, which, if adopted, would take effect September 1, 2020, applies to companies that do business and collect consumer data and:
- Derive at least 50% of their annual revenue selling consumers’ personal information; or
- Exceed $25 million in gross annual revenue (with that amount subject to adjustment by the Texas Attorney General every two years); or
- Buy, sell, or receive the personal information of at least 50,000 consumers, households, or devices for commercial purposes
- The Texas CPA would also apply to entities owned by companies that would be subject to the law. Similar to the California CPA, the Texas CPA contains express provisions governing rulemaking, implementation, and enforcement of the law. Notably, the legislation highlights various consumer rights, including (but not limited to):
- A consumer’s right to disclosure, from the business, of the personal information the business collected.
- A consumer’s right to deletion of the personal information that the business collected (with some limited, specific exceptions).
- A consumer’s right to opt out of the sale of his or her personal information.
Continue Reading Texas Legislature Weighing Proposed New Privacy Laws